The Rabbit
by aneedleofmyown
Summary: "You can't tell me what to do." Her voice was petulant, and he was reminded suddenly of just how young she really must be. "No," he agreed with a small smile. "But I can make you do it." With that, he slung her arm around his shoulder and lifted her from the ground.


Gendry gripped the long wooden branch carelessly in his rough hands, swinging it halfheartedly through the small bushes surrounding him. It was nearing sundown, and he and the rest of the boys heading to the Wall were going about their evening routine of scavenging for food. Or at least, for something somewhat edible. Truthfully, though, he didn't really know what he was doing. Gendry hadn't exactly lived the life of a highborn growing up, but he'd never been in the position of having to catch his dinner- unless the chickens his mother had used to keep counted.

There didn't seem to be too much in means of meat lurking around these woods, anyway, he observed in disappointment. He and most of the other blokes usually resigned themselves to what plants and berries they could scrounge up, along with some acorn paste if they were "lucky." It wasn't enough, though; it seemed as if no matter how much they ate, they were never satisfied. He'd even seen Arry choking down some bugs as Lommy Greenhands looked on in unveiled disgust.

_No_, he thought. _Not Arry._ After all, Arry was a boy's name, and Arry was no boy. He wondered what her true name was, and what in seven hells she was doing traveling to the Wall with this lot.

Gendry straightened from a small bush, clutching the scant amount of berries he'd managed to coax from its branches. Hoping they were as harmless as they looked, he popped one into his mouth, savoring the taste of the sweet juice as it exploded against his tongue. Hastily, he shoved the rest of the berries into his mouth, knowing he should try and make them last, but he couldn't seem to help himself. When he was done, though, he regretted it- his stomach felt more empty now than it had been moments before, and it clenched tightly in protest. Gods, he couldn't wait to make it to the Wall. It was uncomfortable there, too, no doubt in many ways, but at least there was the guarantee of food every day.

Just then, something caught his attention, distracting him momentarily from fantasies of black cloaks and warm soup. A kind of… rustling in the leaves nearby. He could hear the occasional voice from behind him, near where they had camped, and Gendry thought maybe it would be best if he simply turned back then. However, curiosity quickly won him over, and he turned away from the noise of the camp and stepped deeper into the woods.

There was more rustling and the occasional whimper, and for a moment, excitement flooded him as images of some wounded animal filled his mind. A rabbit, perhaps, or maybe even a deer! His mouth watered at the thought, even while he knew it was too much to hope for.

Creeping closer, however, Gendry saw that it was no animal. Or at least, not technically. Though, as he stood before the small girl sprawled across the ground, sword in hand, he had to admit that there was something especially wild and wolfish about this "Arry." It was a moment before he noticed that her skinny blade was bloodied, and he saw the dead rabbit clenched in her fist. He took a step closer toward her, a disbelieving smile on his face, but she raised the point of her weapon toward him, swift as a fox. Needle, she called it.

Gendry stared down at her and couldn't help but smirk. "What?" he teased. "Afraid I'm going to steal that skinny little thing?" Though, in all honesty, the thought had crossed his mind for the briefest of moments. It had been days since he'd tasted meat of any kind, much less that of an animal that he actually enjoyed eating.

"You can't have it," she replied fiercely, grey eyes flashing at him. She was a fighter, this one, Gendry mused.

"Yeah?" he asked, pushing her a bit further. He enjoyed sparring with the little beast, and over the past few days he'd come to think of her as something close to a friend. If nothing else, he admired her tenacity. "And who's going to stop me, you? What are you waiting for, then? I could use a good tussle." Truthfully, he had no intention of stealing the girl's dinner, but he didn't want to let on that he knew she was a girl just yet. He had to treat her like any other boy- though in all honesty, he preferred her company over the rest of the sorry louts they were traveling with.

Gendry was brought up short, though, when he saw her face flush, and she refused to look at him. She was still lying on the forest floor, rabbit in one hand, sword in the other. She lowered her sword arm slightly, and that's what really caught his attention.

"What is it?" he asked, carefully keeping the concern out of his voice as he knelt to crouch beside her. Ever since he'd figured out she was a girl, he'd sort of made it his private mission to protect her, keep her safe. She couldn't know that, though.

"Come on, then," he insisted, brusquely. "What's happened?"

Arry's face flamed, and she kept her eyes glued to the ground. He noticed her hand clench around the rabbit's neck. "I… I fell."

Gendry raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise and confusion. She wasn't a clumsy girl on the worst of days. "And…?" he pressed.

"… and my foot caught on a tree root. My ankle- it's twisted." She finally looked up and met his gaze, and he knew she hated him for seeing her like this. He didn't let it bother him, though.

"Well, let's see it, then," he said, leaning forward and reaching a hand out toward her ankle. Her sword stopped him before he could move any farther, though, pointing directly at his chest. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Leave me, Bull," she said, her voice hard, but Gendry could see the flash of fear in her eyes. "I can take care of myself."

He merely scoffed and slapped the skinny blade away from his heart. "You're like a hurt dog backed into a corner, you know that? I'm not gonna hurt you, just let me have a look." He reached his hand out and, before she could stop him, he lifted the end of her trousers up above her swollen ankle. It didn't look too bad, but he still grimaced at the sight.

"Well, you're not going to be walking on that till tomorrow at the earliest," he told her, knowing that she would hate him even more for it.

"You can't tell me what to do." Her voice was petulant, and he was reminded suddenly of just how young she really must be.

"No," he agreed with a small smile. "But I can _make_ you do it." With that, he slung her arm around his shoulder and lifted her from the ground, sword and rabbit and all.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, struggling against him before biting back a hiss of pain at her agitated ankle. "Put me down, you _stupid_!"

Gendry merely laughed and began making his way back to camp. She continued to fight him, but for all her efforts, he was not in the least deterred. She was so small that her struggling was almost entirely pointless. He was surprised at how soft she was, though, for such a wiry little thing. If he hadn't known she was a girl already, he would've guessed it at that.

"Put me down right now, you great big oaf!" she snarled, pushing angrily against his chest. "Or I'll- I'll…"

"Or you'll what?" he retorted. "Crawl back into camp instead?"

That seemed to pull her up short, and they continued on in silence- though she didn't look any happier for it.

The other boys and men stared at the two of them as they reentered the camp, and Gendry heard the occasional snicker. He payed them no heed, but as he set Arry down on a fallen log, he heard her murmur, "I hate you," as she quickly got to work skinning her rabbit.

However, later that night as they all sat around the fire eating what they could, the proud, wild wolf-girl silently thrust one of the animal's legs toward him. Gendry smiled.


End file.
